BBFF 2012 Official Selection: A Deeper Shade of Blue (Sneak Preview)
How Hawaiian Surf Culture conquered the World. Master surf filmmaker Jack McCoy ventures into a new realm with his latest feature. This is not a surf movie, it is a film about surfing’s deepest roots; in the subconscious; in ancient lore; in the craft of surfboard building; in man’s perpetual quest for a joyful relationship with the natural world.
BBFF Official Selection: Bombay Beach
An Australian premiere, this debut feature documentary is being hailed as an intrieging masterpiece. With a compelling sound track by Bob Dylan and Beirut, Bombay Beach is a film about one of the poorest communities in southern California. Located on the shores of the Salton Sea a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination for the privileged and is now a pool of dead fish.
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BBFF 2012 Official Selection: Crazy Wisdom
Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, ‘the bad boy of Buddhism,’ shattered Westerners’ notions about how an enlightened teacher should behave, yet he is recognized as being the pivotal person to bring Buddhism to the west. Raised in the rigorous Tibetan monastic tradition, Trungpa fled his homeland during the Chinese Communist invasion of 1959. In Britain, seeing his monk’s robes blocked his students’ understanding of Buddhism, he renounced his monastic vows, eloped with a sixteen year-old and embraced western life.
BBFF 2012 Official Selection: Beauty Day
BEFORE THERE WAS JACKASS… THERE WAS RALPH ZAVADIL.
Adrenaline Junkies are going to love this crazy documentary.
“Everyone should have a friend like Ralph.”
His cable access television show, The Cap’n Video Show, ran from 1990 to 1995, spawning a small but loyal cult following. Each week Ralph performed a series of idiotic and occasionally dangerous stunts, challenging the sensibilities of his small Southern Ontario audience. With the advent of the internet and reality television still years away, his unique brand of gross-out stunt comedy was truly ahead of its time. All it took was a broken neck for him to get noticed.
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BBFF2012 Official Selection: Decadence
BBFF2012 has received over 900 entries and after months of viewing we’re pleased to announce a highlight of the 2012 Festival. Our first Official Selection to be publically announced is Pria Viswalingam’s acclaimed documentary Decadence: The Decline of the Western World.
Decadence: The Decline of the Western World has been receiving rave reviews and is sure to be a winner with the BBFF Audience.
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The Byron International Documentary Prize
BBFF Festival Director J’aimee Skippon-Volke & Screenzone Managing Director Michael Weatherhead. Photo by Jensta
The inaugural Byron International Documentary Prize, a no-strings cash grant of $5000, has been announced by the Byron Bay International Film Festival (BBFF) and ScreenZone, a new venture created locally which brings together documentary makers and online retailing.
ScreenZone will be launched at the 2012 festival and has put up the funds for the prize.
BBFF Official Selection: Beijing Punk
Beijing Punk is an exhilarating documentary about the paradoxical realities existing within 21st century China. With playful curiosity, Australian film-maker, Shaun Jefford, scratches the socialist surface to reveal a hot-headed, discontented counter-culture simmering just below.
BBFF Official Selection: Cultures of Resistance
Country of Origin: USA Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Burmese, Farsi, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Dari, Kinyarwanda with English Subtitles
Directed by Iara Lee, Cultures of Resistance is a chilling yet inspiring feature documentary. Armed with only music, art, song and dance, this film is all about the power of people united by their desire to heal the most impoverished, enslaved nations of the world.
BBFF Official Selection: Queen of the Sun – What are the bees telling us?
Country of Origin: USA
Without bees, Albert Einstein said, “man would only have four years of life left.”
In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, a scientist, philosopher & social innovator, predicted that in 80 to 100 years honeybees would collapse. His prediction has come true with Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees are disappearing in mass numbers from their hives with no clear single explanation. In an alarming inquiry into the insights behind Steiner’s prediction QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heart-felt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world.
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BBFF Official Selection: First Love
Country of Origin: Australia
First Love is about love, friendship and following your dreams. This feature length surf film documents the lives of three passionate teenagers from Phillip Island and follows them to Hawaii – the first step on their journey to making surfing a career.
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BBFF Official Selection: This Way of Life
Set in the ruggedly stunning landscapes of the Ruahine Ranges and Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, This Way of Life takes us on a true life journey into the world of hunter and horse wrangler Peter Ottley-Karena, wife Colleen, and their six children as they share the rich tapestry of their lives and their much revered connection to the natural world. Peter’s philosophy for living emanates from his own deep-seated values that shun the modern world in favour of a simple, more natural way of life. He is passionately, and patiently, committed to imparting these values to his growing children.
BBFF Official Selection: Westall 66 – A Suburban UFO Mystery
Forty-four years after hundreds of students, teachers and local residents who witnessed a UFO fly over an Australian suburb were silenced by authorities, amateur detective Shane Ryan is going back to find an answer to the mystery.
BBFF Official Selection: Wild Horse, Wild Ride
A handful of unforgettable characters set out on a 100-day quest to tame a totally wild mustang for a Texas competition in this stunning and poignant documentary.
BBFF Official Selection: Land
When three inexperienced yet determined gringos try to build cheap tropical resort destinations in politically volatile Nicaragua, they find the land under their feet becomes very unstable.
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BBFF Official Selection: And the Beat Goes On
Bursting with mesmerizing style and candid interviews with professionals, party-goers, and spiritualists in the know, this documentary takes viewers on a journey through the rich history and philosophy of Ibiza. British actor, DJ, and budding tour guide Jimi Mistry walks the beat as the host of this decadent good time. Featuring appearances by David Guetta, Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong, Danny Tengalia, Danny Rampling and many more!
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UPDATED: Poster, Official Trailer
BBFF Official Selection: The Nature of Existance
Filmmaker Roger Nygard (Trekkies) takes on The Nature of Existence, roaming the globe to interview spiritual leaders, scientists, and artists who have influenced, inspired, or freaked out humanity.
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